***I do not wear headphones***
I run on single track lanes quite often, and where I live (Lincolnshire - no traffic and few hills) is prime MAMIL territory. They (being often retired I assume) seem to hunt in vast mid-week packs.
Invariably, they seem to expect me to hurl myself into the nearest ditch when our paths meet, lest they lose their racing grouping/line/whatever.
I am interested in what people would consider to be the correct (and legal) behaviour here.
I assume that I should (as a pedestrian) be on the 'wrong' side of the road, facing traffic. This is where I place myself if there is traffic on the road (otherwise I run in the middle giving longest line of site).
Surely it cannot be acceptable for herds of cyclists to claim the ENTIRE road in this circumstance? I am constantly being sworn at/scowled at for daring to hold my 25% of the road.
Any comments, particularly from cyclists, would be great.
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My favourite response to cyclists who shout out to "warn" me, is to yell back "All that money to buy a carbon bike and you can't afford a fecking bell?"
My own petpeeve is mountain bikers in my local Country Park, which has tarmac and loose gravel paths, who refuse to swerve on to the grass to pass me, but I have too! What is the point of a mountain bike if you won't ride it on grass? muppets.
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> My own petpeeve is mountain bikers in my local Country Park, which has tarmac and loose gravel paths, who refuse to swerve on to the grass to pass me, but I have too! What is the point of a mountain bike if you won't ride it on grass? muppets.
So what stops you running on the grass? i presume you had trainers on rather than high heels or roller skates.
Common courtesy would be for both parties to yield and slow a little.
Worth bearing in mind that cyclists in groups are well used to avoiding stationary objects like parked cars or potholes, but running towards them at (say) 8-10mph when they're doing maybe double that towards you means they easily misjudge just how quickly the gap between you closes - some of the close calls will be down to that.
Best to use common sense though - being on the inside of a sweeping turn is usually not a great place to be whatever the direction of traffic. OTOH, if you're going uphill then the left is where the slower cyclists will be.
The most important reason to run towards oncoming traffic is that you can see if they don't see you or not. This means you can save yourself by jumping in a ditch!
Colin - Have you considered that some people live in areas that have no pavements and need to run on roads to run at all? I read a report once when someone in a car got hit by a car on a road. Maybe they should have been driving on the pavement?
There is no excuse for cycling on the road while its open to traffic You can take yourself somewhere away from roads instead, or if that isn't practical, get a a turbo.
Blimey, Coin's come out of his burrow again!
Runner and cyclist here. If I can avoid it though - I don't run on the road. It feels a lot riskier than cycling on the road.
Always run facing oncoming traffic unless there's a blind bend. I find that you get cars following so closely together that the first car obviously sees you and can avoid - but the car up his bumper only gets visibility of you when you're 10 feet away - so I'm always ready to throw myself into a hedge.
Never had a problem with cyclists either - I do worry about runners I see running with the traffic and headphones in and wearing dull clothing.
Next time you meet the cyclists then a shout of good morning might break the ice. It won't kill you to move over a bit will it - I'm sure the cyclists will be doing the same too.
If you go out with the mindset of 'bloody mamil cyclists hogging all of the road' then you'll likely reinforce it.
I've never sworn at a runner or had a problem with them.
I've found motorists on the whole to be pretty good: there are a lot of country lanes near me, and I've noticed over the past 20+ years that more and more move over, or indicate pulling wide.
By the same token as I hear and see further than a motorist probably can, on the rare occasions there is two way, I step into the hedge or bank so they can pass.
Cyclists I find worse as a motorist: the tractors and such like pull over at intervals to let the build up of traffic pass, I've yet to see a group of riders do that.
In mitigation, the past few summers I have heard cycle group leaders yell "runner on the left" to advise the peleton, so generally I think it's all getting better.
As for runners with headphones on lanes, they are just idiots. Hearing is vital, on some lanes you hear traffic well ahead of seeing anything.
PS, I'm a cyclist and a runner, but not necessarily in that order
You will find the same with almost all triathlon and cycling clubs, there is often an initiation and rules to be obeyed to ride in the group.
I think it's important to recognise that we all encounter idiots and we shouldn't define them by the activity they partaking in at the time. You just end up hating the group of people who inconvenience you the most. So if you're a driver you're going to hate cyclist and if you're a runner you're more likely to have an issue with pedestrians or cyclists.
My pet peeve is pedestrians that walk in groups taking up the whole pavement and don't cut in behind one another as you come the other way (running or walking). I have completely flattened a lad who was in a group of three mates and refused to move over so I picked up speed, dropped my shoulder a little and boom, it hurt a little but it was worth it
Maybe that cyclist at the other parkrun was late for an appointment or something ? It's give and take really - everyone has a right to be there - just don't be a jerk about it. Not sure telling runners to look where they are going was aggressive though ?
I think you should run in the road Colin, if it's as dangerous you say, I reckon the human race would be a better off without you in the gene pool.
Of course there are some runners who go out on unsuitably dangerous roads and natural selection is whittling away at them. The vast majority of runners on roads are doing so on roads suitable for the purpose and exercising appropriate care. As a general rule, a motorist should always be able to stop within the distance they can see - not "at the speed limit".
🙂